"Coal all spent; the bucket empty; the shovel useless; the stove breathing out cold; the room freezing; the leaves outside the window rigid, covered with rime; the sky a silver shield against anyone who looks for help from it. I must have coal; I cannot freeze to death; behind me is the pitiless stove, before me the pitiless sky, so I must ride out between them and on my journey seek aid..."

"My mode of arrival must decide the matter; so I ride off on the bucket. Seated on the bucket, my hands on the handle, the simplest kind of bridle, I propel myself with difficulty down the stairs; but once down below my bucket ascends, superbly, superbly; camels humbly squatting on the ground do not rise with more dignity..."

"'Coal-dealer!' I cry in a voice burned hollow by the frost and muffled in the cloud made by my breath, 'please, coal-dealer, give me a little coal. My bucket is so light that I can ride on it. Be kind. When I can I'll pay you.'"

"Well, what does he want?" shouts the dealer. "Nothing," his wife shouts back, "there's nothing here; I see nothing, I hear nothing; only six striking, and now we must shut up the shop. The cold is terrible; tomorrow we'll likely have lots to do again."

What?

When I talk to top executives in today’s energy industry, it often feels as if they were modern manifestations of Kafka's bucket rider ("Kübelreiter"): They know that their traditional means of producing energy (and thereby making money) are running out; they make plans to reinvent their business, tap into potential sources of replenishing their empty buckets, and think of creative approaches to explain their intentions.

However, despite doing everything right and with strong conviction, they still find themselves misunderstood and rejected by those they interact with...

In my coaching & counseling work, I offer formats for individuals and for teams (within and across organizations) to develop the lightness of mind that is needed to be (and remain) successful in the increasingly uncertain and ambiguous environment of today’s energy industry.